Women Who Write Animals

Why have so many women turned to animals in their writing—and what does that reveal about our shared world? Women Who Write Animals: Female Literary Representations of the More-Than-Human World brings to light the rich and often overlooked legacy of Anglophone women writers who, from the late eighteenth century to the present, have engaged powerfully and provocatively with animal life. From activists and scientists to poets and novelists, these authors have reshaped how we imagine animals—and, in turn, ourselves. Drawing on ecofeminism, animal studies, and posthumanist thought, the essays gathered here explore intimate interspecies bonds, political resistance, ethical entanglements, and alternative ways of knowing and inhabiting the world. Combining original archival research with innovative critical approaches, this collection reclaims women’s central role in rethinking nature and challenges readers to envision a more compassionate, relational, and interconnected planet.